Recall for a moment our government’s response to Katrina and now think about the past couple of days and how the Obama Administration has responded to the earthquake in Haiti. Let’s also keep in mind that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are actually a part of the United States while Haiti is not. Do we have some vital strategic interests in Haiti? Don’t know really, since it’s never easy to figure out what all of our clandestine agencies are doing at any given moment in any part of the globe. But on the surface it certainly appears that our guy understands what it is that America stands for as far as our global responsibilities in the face of natural disasters. It’s called leadership.
This morning (Thursday) Obama gave a short news conference flanked by Secretary of State Clinton, VP Biden, and a couple of other administration officials and made the point that the US Government was making a concerted, rapid and coordinated response to the catastrophe in Haiti. Apparently the first responders arrived yesterday in Port-au-Prince including a disaster recovery team from Fairfax Virginia and a trickle of desperately needed aid. It looks as if there will be much more over the next few days. From the very first news flashes about the earthquake, I have been watching Obama’s actions and I have to say that he makes me proud again to be an American.
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